Arts Colloquium Series, 2012

Faculty of Arts Colloquium Series 2011-2012

“Haunted Desire: A Canadian National--‐Cultural Love Story”

Presentation by: Dr. Lisa Cooke (Anthropology)

There is something sexy about North in Canadian national--‐cultural imaginaries. It is a landscape of desire upon which individual and collective ambitions are etched and performed. In this presentation, join Lisa as takes you North to Dawson City to explore this love story. And like all good love stories, it’s complicated.

Drawn North by tales of “strange things done in the midnight sun,” you'll walk the streets of Dawson noting the ways that national—cultural narratives assemble, take place as a collection of National Historic Sites of Canada. Emblematic of Canada’s pioneering past and northern ambitions, Dawson City makes sense.

Collective restorative nostalgias take hold of the guts and glory of the Klondike Gold Rush through officialised commemorative efforts that turn this space into a meaningful national--‐cultural place.

Pausing on the banks of the Klondike River, however, the narrative and aesthetic flow of  things is interrupted. Ghosts haunt the margins of this story and demand pause.

If Dawson City stands as a commemorative expression of national--‐cultural accomplishment, love, does it not too stand as a site where those things done in the name of that project and love must be confronted?

As mentioned earlier, it’s complicated.

After the presentation there will be a social at Heroes Pub, where there will be complimentary appetizers and further discussion.

Interested in giving a talk on your research? Contact: Dr. Tina Block (tblock@tru.ca), Dr. Lisa Cooke (lcooke@tru.ca), or Dr. Jenna Woodrow (jenna.woodrow@gmail.com)

The Arts Colloquium Series is grateful for the support of: The Faculty of Arts and CURA Community University Research Alliance.